Taking care of me
by NaijaChiqa
Summary: Based on 'The Shower.' Theresa makes some decisions.


I do not own the O.C.  
  
Based on 'The Shower' including the preview.  
  
Summary: Theresa's pregnant.  
  
  
  
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It had been two months with no period.   
  
Growing up, that wasn't what I envisioned my life to be. College, a handsome husband, 2.4 kids and a picket fence filled my dreams. So you can imagine that getting pregnant at 17 wasn't part of the plan.My mother had my brother when she was 16. She was class president, the only daughter of her doting parents and Julliard-bound. Then she met my father, fell head over heels and set aside her strict Catholic upbringing. Fast forward a few years and all that was left were shattered dreams and screaming kids.  
  
Hers was the example I could not follow.  
  
I swiped thirty-five dollars from our 'emergencies only' box and bought three different pregnancy tests- I wasn't leaving anything to chance. I drank gallons of water and took the tests. Even though they all looked different - a line, two lines, a positive sign - they all spoke in one voice; you're pregnant.  
  
Dr. Kelly's test provide me with additional information - I was six weeks along. It didn't take rocket science to determine the father as it had been nine weeks since I slept with anyone other than Eddie.  
  
"Do we have anything to eat?" he asked the minute he walked in later that evening.   
  
No 'hello,' no 'how was your day,' nothing. All he wanted to know was if I'd been a good little wife and made his dinner. Sitting at home playing wife was increasingly becoming irritating.   
  
"Theresa, did you hear what I said?"   
  
I looked up from the couch and rolled my eyes at him. His brows furrowed in worry as he walked over and sat next to me.  
  
"Honey, is everything O.K.?"  
  
"Like you care. All you want is your dinner," I snapped at him.  
  
He wrapped his hands around me and kissed me lightly on the cheek. I'd told him numerous times to shower the second he returned from work but as usual, he didn't listen.  
  
"Of course, I care. Right now, all I care about is my future wife."  
  
I nudged him. "You stink," I pointed out.  
  
He smiled. He took back his hands but didn't leave my side. "I'll take care of that only after you tell me what's wrong."  
  
I reluctantly looked into his eyes. "I have to tell you something but I don't know how to say it."  
  
"What?"  
  
"I don't know how it happened. Believe me, I have been very careful."  
  
"Theresa, what? You're scaring me."  
  
"I guess I'll just say it then. I'm pregnant."  
  
His face broke into a huge grin. "For real?"  
  
I nodded.  
  
He shot off the couch, pulling me up with him then lifted me.  
  
"I'm going to be a father," he shouted, twirling me around.   
  
I was glad that he was happy but I couldn't force myself to share his feelings - motherhood didn't seem quite as attractive.  
  
He put me down.  
  
"Theresa, why was that making you sad? We're getting married right? It just means we are starting our family a lot sooner than we anticipated."  
  
I tried to smile but my cheeks refused to heed my wishes.   
  
He took my hand. "What's wrong? Why aren't you happy? We can handle this, you know."  
  
I looked away, shaking my head. "That's not it."  
  
"What then?" I didn't respond. In light of his joy I couldn't very well mention that I was thinking of aborting his child. I'd already begun to regret telling him about it in the first place, but I'd done it hoping he'd give me the money to get the procedure done.  
  
He took his hand away. "Theresa, what is it?"  
  
I kept silent, still looking away.  
  
"Theresa... what?" In a voice devoid of emotion, he asked, "is it mine?"  
  
Disgusted by the question, I turned to him and sarcastically replied, "No, it's not."  
  
Before I could say anything else, I felt his palm on the side of my face. I guess sarcasm is lost on him.  
  
"You see what you made me do?" he screamed. "I've never hit a woman! Theresa, see what you've done? How could you do this to me? How could you? I thought you were different but apparently I was wrong - you're just a slut like the rest of them."  
  
All thoughts of apologies and explanations dissipated with those words.  
  
I turned to leave. He grabbed me by the shoulders and made me look at him.  
  
"Don't you dare walk away from me."   
  
He shook me vigorously. "Whose bastard are you carrying, whose?"  
  
What had once been shock morphed into fury. As if slapping and insulting me weren't bad enough, he was intent on shaking the life out of me. I put my fists together and with all my might, hit him in the groin. He let go of me and keeled over in pain.  
  
"That's the last time you ever put your hands on me," I informed him walking to my bedroom.  
  
"You're right," he muttered through shallow breaths. "You have till the end of the week to get your things out of here!" he called after me.  
  
---------  
  
I didn't set out to hurt anyone, but when it comes to my survival, nothing is off-limits.   
  
When I called Mr. Cohen, I wanted to find out if it was possible to make Eddie pay for the abortion. Then I saw how he reacted to my face and like any resourceful person I took advantage of it. I'd always been a little jealous of Ryan for having the charm and intelligence to make a rich benefactor take him out of the hell we called Chino, but on that afternoon, I realized it had nothing to do with Ryan - he was just lucky. Mr. Cohen feels the need to save lost souls and Ryan was at the right place at the right time and as he watched me anxiously from across the table, I knew my time had come.   
  
It would be nice to take claim to be a mastermind, but I'm not that smart. Of course I'd expected him to tell Ryan about my situation. And, yes, I'd expected Ryan to play the hero and get me the money I needed, only he'd think it was for a new apartment. But when I didn't hear from him, I figured my plan had failed.  
  
Part of the reason for taking the catering job in Newport was to make myself easily reachable and to prevent anyone from going to Chino and finding out the truth. Running into Ryan at the bakery was simply a stroke of luck.  
  
--------  
  
"She needs to take a paternity test!" Mr. Cohen shouted.   
  
Ryan and his guardians were in the kitchen attempting to have a family discussion.  
  
As expected, the melodramatic Marissa had run off to find Ryan the minute she found out my status. I would have liked to take a little more time before dropping the bomb, but I was getting close to the three-month deadline and couldn't risk getting refused by the doctor.  
  
I knew I shouldn't have but I hid by the door and listened in -if anything important was coming out of the meeting, I needed to know about it as I was the one most affected.  
  
"Sandy, she's not taking any test," Ryan stated.  
  
"Now, that's just stupid. How do you know it's yours?"  
  
"Because I know."  
  
"Then the test will simply confirm that."  
  
Silence.  
  
"Did you make Kirsten take a test?" Ryan asked.  
  
Pause.  
  
"You know that's different."  
  
"How is that different?"  
  
"Because she's my wife and I knew Seth was mine."  
  
"I've known Theresa all my life and I know the child is mine."  
  
"Ryan... why don't you take Sandy's advice? It'll be best knowing," Kirsten chimed in.  
  
"Best for who? She's going to think I don't trust her and I cannot let that happen."  
  
"But Ryan... regardless of what you decide, this is going to change your life forever. You have to make sure you know all the facts so that you can make the right decision."  
  
"I know all the facts," he said plainly.  
  
Someone sighed. "I've been a lawyer for a long time and I can tell you that more often than you'd believe, these things are not as they appear."  
  
"Sandy think about it. Why would she lie? She was about to get married. If the baby was Eddie's there wouldn't have been a problem. He probably hit her because she told him it's mine."  
  
"You don't know that," Kirsten said softly.  
  
"What I do know is that because of me, she's already suffered. There's no way I can let her suffer even more by putting her through a humiliating test. Can't you see that?"  
  
"I can see that you're letting your emotions cloud your judgment. Just think of this test as confirmation not humiliation."  
  
"Sandy, drop it." He sounded as if he'd spoken through gritted teeth.   
  
"Ryan, this time I am going to have to insist."  
  
"You can insist all you want- she's not taking the test."  
  
"Ryan..."  
  
-----------  
  
"She looks just like you," Ryan said to me holding Angela in his arms.  
  
The hospital room was crowded. Sandy, Kirsten, Summer and Seth were standing behind him cooing at her. Angela was beautiful with my lips and her daddy's nose.  
  
I'd tried to insist but Ryan wouldn't even entertain getting rid of her. The Cohens let us have the pool house and soon after, we turned it into our little home. Before she found out we would be playing Happy Family, Marissa hung around, lending her support . Just like I'd predicted, she was pro-choice or should I say, pro my choice for getting rid of the obstacle my child would unquestionably be. But ever since I started showing, she's been nowhere to be found.   
  
We ran into Eddie outside my mother's house. Nothing happened as we simply ignored one another but I remember thinking it was a great thing we shared the same coloring.   
  
"Can I hold her?" Seth asked.  
  
"Ehm..." Ryan said, hesitating. "You might want to ask her mother," he said turning to look at me sweetly.  
  
I smiled back then nodded at Seth.  
  
So here I am, 18 years old, mother of one and fiancée of another. No, this is not the life I always envisioned. 


End file.
